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Employment Law

Frostproof gets chilled after harassment heats up

09/01/2007

The city of Frostproof has a hot-to-trot city manager, according to allegations made by a former assistant city manager. The manager apparently sexually harassed her on a business trip to Tampa. After she complained, the manager and the city gave her the cold shoulder by suspending her, cutting her pay, changing her title and even trying to have her arrested …

City settles meter reader’s race claim

09/01/2007

Port St. Lucie has settled a race discrimination claim filed by a demoted meter reader for $60,000 and a promotion. The black woman filing the suit was a meter reader supervisor when she was called away for duty in the Army Reserve. Upon returning, she found she had been demoted and a white male now held her position …

Congress considers redrawing the lines between employees and independent contractors

09/01/2007

The title of recent congressional hearings—“The Misclassification of Workers as Independent Contractors”—says it all. Some in Congress are looking to change the Fair Labor Standards Act to further define who is an “employee” and who is an “independent contractor” …

Ink’s barely dry on minimum wage hike, but some in Washington want to go higher

09/01/2007

Congress this year pushed the federal minimum wage up to $5.85 per hour, with 70-cent jumps planned for the next two summers. But some lawmakers want to keep that mojo working. A group of Democrats, led by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., are proposing to push the federal minimum to $9.50 per hour starting in 2009 …

Tech firm learns the hard way: Don’t switch employees to exempt once they hit a pay threshold

09/01/2007

Aerospace contractor Ball Corp. agreed to pay out almost $1 million to 900 employees to settle a U.S. Labor Department complaint. The problem: The company switched top-tier hourly workers to exempt status once employees reached the top of the hourly pay scale. They were also required to work through lunch without pay …

Gender-Bender Liability: More States, Cities Make It Illegal to Discriminate Based on ‘Gender Identity’

09/01/2007

Don’t fire an employee for cross-dressing or allow co-workers to harass a female worker who acts masculine until you understand your potential liability under the increasing number of “gender-identity discrimination” laws. Such laws typically prevent discrimination against workers or applicants because they don’t conform to the stereotypes of how a man or woman looks, lives or acts …

Porn at work: Don’t get into debate over what is ‘Too much’

09/01/2007

When an employee says no to the sexual images posted in co-workers’ workstations and to their sexually laced comments, your company had better listen … and act. It shouldn’t debate over “how much” porn is acceptable. As a recent lawsuit shows, even if an employee initially tolerates a sexually charged workplace, she can drop the lawsuit hammer at any time …

Can you consider FMLA leave in employee’s review?

09/01/2007

Q. We have an employee who takes a lot of intermittent FMLA leave for medical reasons. We are writing her performance appraisal and need to address topics such as dependability, reliability, etc. Her FMLA leaves are affecting these issues. Does the law regulate whether we can lower her performance review or merit increases based on her FMLA leave? —G.L., Massachusetts …

When to pay for travel time in company car

09/01/2007

Q. We provide certain hourly employees with a vehicle to drive to and from job sites. Employees are required to pick up the vehicle at our offices by 6 am. After working at various job sites, they’re required to bring the vehicle back to the office at day’s end. Should the drive time from the final job site back to the office be compensated? —M.R., Arizona …

Must we let workers on FMLA leave use sick leave?

09/01/2007

Q. Our policy states that sick leave is available to employees who are scheduled to work but unable to do so due to illness or injury. It’s not available to employees who are on (FMLA) leaves of absence because—due to the leave—they’re not scheduled to work. In other words, we don’t allow employees on FMLA leave to take paid sick leave. Do we have to? —S.B., Pennsylvania …